So Close
by Ardin
Summary: KIBBS. Will a fairy-tale night be the perfect chance for THEM to happen?
1. Part 1

**So Close **By Ardin

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gibbs, Kate, Abby or any of the rest of them. I also don't own Jon McLaughlin's music.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**You're in my arms**

**And all the world is calm**

**The music playing on for only two**

**So close together**

**And when I'm with you**

**So close to feeling alive**

_He walks over to her slowly, his steps measured and confident. His eyes show a slight concern that his steps don't and only those that knew him well would recognize the worried set of his mouth and the determined knit of his brows. She looks up as he stops just in front of her, the smallest of grins twisting his mouth at her stunned expression. She regains her composure quite quickly though and smiles back at him. He raises his hand from his side, offering it, palm up, to her._

--------------------------

When she thinks back on how they ended up where they were, Kate realizes that she can say with certainty, while only minimally feeling like she's making excuses, that this is all the Director's fault. It was, after all his idea to change the annual awards presentation into a fullout, no holds barred ball. Complete with frilly dresses, men in tuxedos and dancing. Of course with that realization comes the necessity of admitting that at first she was quite happy about the idea.

She'd always enjoyed getting dressed up every once in a while and this seemed to be the perfect excuse to get all decked out for an evening. She also appeared to be one of the only people in the office who felt that way about the event. Abby and a few of the other women, plus Ted from accounting, had looked forward to the night's festivities with as much enthusaism as Kate, but the rest of NCIS's Washington DC branch were not as excited. From the little that she heard as office scuttlebutt, Kate was able to discern that the rest of the teams were so upset by the idea - especially since Morrow had made it mandatory - that the Director had spent the entire week in "meetings" with those agents who felt they might stand a chance of changing his mind. None had succeeded. Even Gibbs, who'd spent a good hour and a half speaking with the other man, had made no progress in getting out of the 1st annual NCIS Awards Ball.

She suspected, though she wasn't prepared to admit it to herself, that much of her enthusiasm stemmed from the idea of seeing a certain silver-haired Special Agent in a tux. As she'd shopped for a dress, found the perfect matching shoes, and had her hair done much of her thought process was on what she felt that he would like. Nothing would ever come of such speculation, she knew; he was her boss, absolutely obsessed with his work, and romantically damaged. There could never be anything more then the office flirtation between them, he'd made that perfectly clear on more than one occasion, but it didn't stop her mind from running wild at the idea of being held in his arms as they twirled around a dance floor.

She'd had to shake herself out of such daydreams on more than one occasion since the Tuesday that she had found the Ball invitation in her e-mail's inbox. 'You can't live the fairytale' she told herself, 'there is no such things as charming princes, wicked step-mothers, or happily ever afters.' And yet, her mind kept creating the images and Abby was totally not helping.

The young goth had been making suggestions ever since the party had been announced; very pointed suggestions that Kate should take advantage of the opportunity the Ball presented and take advantage of Gibbs. Kate had never regreted the moment of weakness that had led to her telling the lab tech of her attraction to the older agent more then she did those last couple of weeks. Every chance Abby got, was one more time that Kate heard about how much the goth thought Kate had changed there enigmatic boss over the three years they had worked together. Over all Kate found these comments to be annoying and, occasionally, highly embarressing.

However, despite the embaressment factor, Abby's comments fueled many of Kate's hopes for the evening. So it was with high hopes that she showered and made herself ready for the evening at the Paradiso Hotel, where the event was taking place. As her taxi travelled the night streets of DC, she made a promise to herself that no matter what "opportunities" - as Abby had put it - the night might bring, she wouldn't do anything foolish. She already knew that Gibbs would never allow anything real to happen between them, so there was no point in doing something stupid that would just make working together more difficult.

And with that decision firmly made, she entered the hotel lobby and made her way to the ballroom, pausing only briefly at the top of the stairs to scan the crowd.

**TBC**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N:** Part 1 of 5. Please read and review to let me know if you want more or not.


	2. Part 2

**A/N:** So alot of you said in your review that you really liked the Kibbs stuff. All I can say to that is that you should read this chapter and then while you are waiting for the next one you should read some of my other stuff, most of it is Kibbs fluffiness.

Also, none my stories has ever passed one hundred reviews, but if you fantastic people keep this up (21 reviews for first chapter) I have high hopes for this story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A life goes by**

**Romantic dreams will stop**

**So I bid mine goodbye and never know**

**So close was waiting, waiting here with you**

**And now forever I know**

**All that I wanted to hold you**

**So close**

_She uncrosses her legs and stands somewhat reluctantly, apparently aware that many of the eyes in the room are turned to watch them. Her motions are elegant as she steps up and away from her chair; her dress falling an inch or so further down her legs and the material rippling in the lights of the ballroom. Where his motions towards her had been fluid as he raised his hand in invitation, hers are a bit stilted, her face showing an odd mix of worry and hope and fear. Despite that her hand makes the trip from her side to his palm and she nods at him, an expression of absolute trust taking the place of her previous emotional confusion. He grins widely as her hand meets his and for several long minutes they merely stare at one another._

----------------------------------

If Gibbs had been forced to chose one word to describe the event, it would have been 'clichéd'. Every aspect of the night, from the valets and red carpet entrance into the hotel to the small symphonic group and semi-decent female crooner, had been out of the exact sort of chick-flick that he'd always refused to watch, no matter which wife asked. He had spent the fist 30 minutes in the ballroom cursing his own Marine tendency towards punctuality. Apparently despite the fact that the invitation had said 7:00pm, the actually start time was 7:30pm and only the Director and three or four of the other male agents were actually there on time.

The ballroom was right out of a classic 30's movie. Small round tables, seating 8 each, were sprinkled around the edge of a large dance floor and Gibbs first thought at seeing this layout was to chuckle briefly to himself. He found it highly unlikely that this scene would ever actually match those from the movies; he considered it significantly more likely that the floor would stay largely empty - with the possible exception of those few agents who actually managed to maintain real relationships and had brought dates - while the tables would continuously hold a large number of federal agents, all of whom would spend the night getting more and more drunk while wishing fervently for a terrorist attack. But again the cliché took over.

Once people began to arrive, Gibbs noticed that many more of them then he had expected had brought dates or spouses who took only the slightest time to pick a table, set down purses, shawls, etc before moving out onto the dance floor. At that point, Gibbs had chosen to follow his own prediction and had sat down at a table in the corner with a very large Bourbon (he had been surprised that the bartender had even had Bourbon, but it lent credence to the idea that they had all just stepped into a Cary Grant flick).

He had had to admit, as the clock approached 7:45pm, that, despite the revolting clichéd atmosphere of the whole thing, most of the agents that he saw, either chatting with others or dancing with sweethearts, seemed to be having an incredibly good time. He had briefly considered stealing Abby away from McGee for a dance (he had never minded dancing too much as long as he wasn't required to do anything too fancy), but the sudden hush that fell over the crowd had stopped his motion towards her as he'd looked around for the cause.

It was just as cliché as any other part of the evening, maybe more so. The sudden silence that had fallen as the previous song had ended and the band had yet to start a new. The apprently uniform motion of the crowd as everyone turned to look up at the top of the ballroom's staircase. Even his own reaction had been right out of Hollywood. Everything around him seemed to drop to slow motion as he followed the rest of the agents' stares up the steps to the figure that stood at the top. Her eyes seemed to find him immediately and he had to fight against the nearly overwhelming urge to make sure his jaw had not physically dropped.

Her dress was a deep burgandy, dropping just to her knees on one side and halfway down her calf on the other. She had a shiny black shawl wrapped loosely around behind her and a similarly black purse dangling from one hand. His eyes travelled up from her black heels, over the curve of her hips, pausing briefly at her bare shoulders before moving up to meet her eyes. Their gazes locked and Gibbs began to wonder how long he'd been standing staring at her and whether or not anyone had noticed that Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs was paralyzed with awe. The very thought brought him out of his trance and he blinked, glancing away from Kate for the briefest of moments.

Their broken eye contact seemed to signal a return to the normal speed of things. The band once more began to play, couples began to dance, and Kate made her way slowly down the stairs gripping the railing tightly with her free hand and watching her feet carefully on the carpeting. Despite the ample opportunity for a stereotypically awkward meeting that was presented by her finally stepping from the stairs to the ballroom floor right in front of him, the overall clichédness of the evening passed him by for once and he greeted her quite regularly, acknowledging that red was a good color on her while simultaneously reprimanding her for her tardiness as he led her over to the table that the team, plus Ducky and Abby, had secured earlier.

**TBC**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**A/N:** Part 2 of 5. Please read and review to let me know what you all thought.


	3. Part 3

**A/N: **So...THANK YOU all for the great reviews you've given this story, I'm glad that everyone is enjoying it so much. For the couple of people who said they wanted longer chapters, I'm sorry but its not going to happen. I'm using 5 chapters to talk about one evening, I have a very specific plan for doing so, and I'm not changing (read as: screwing with) it.

To everyone, I'm really sorry if this has spelling or grammar errors in it. My Word program has died and so I'm stuck using Notepad which has no spell check. I tried to edit carefully but I probably missed stuff. If you think it's something big AND that interferes with the reading let me know and I'll fix and update the chapter, but I won't update for the little stuff so please don't give me every little thing (Especially the grammar. Some of that is just my own brand of writing style).

Enjoy.

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**So close to reaching that famous happy end**

**Almost believing this was not pretend**

**And now you're beside me and look how far we've come**

**So far we are so close**

_They walk out onto the floor slowly, gracefully, their hands still clasped gently together. Their eyes are, for the most part, on the space on the dance floor that has cleared for them, but each takes occasional side-long glances at the other. The one time that they catch each others gaze they look away quickly, a spectacular blush spreading over her cheeks and a grin breaking through onto his features despite his obvious effort to keep it from showing. Each step is taken simultaneously; he shortens his stride to accomidate the heels she wears and she speeds her steps slightly to match his pace. Neither notices the stares they are recieving from the rest of the room._

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As she walked down the stairs, Kate kept her gaze fixed firmly on her shoes, partially to ensure that she did not trip in the unusually high heels but mostly to keep herself from staring inappropriately at Gibbs. She had spotted him immediately near the base of the stairs as she had looked down over the ballroom, his maroon tie and pocket handkerchief showing quite brightly against the total blackness of the rest of his outfit. She couldn't remember a time, as she came to the foot of the stairs and allowed herself to once again look at him, when he had looked so ... dashing. She mentally laughed at her inability to come up with a less Cinderella sort of word to describe him, but still felt that it was the only thing that would truly do him justice at that moment.

Gibbs' passing comment that she was late was almost completely lost on her as her mind focused in on the brief compliment he paid her and it was with a very large smile firmly on her face that she followed him to one of the tables along the dance floor. Sitting down, she forced her attention away from the man who had sat down beside her and onto the ballroom around her. The feeling of being inside of a fairytale which had been present all day grew even stronger as she watched the swirling colors of dancers on the floor and precision playing of the musicians at the front of the room.

She had barely had a minute to take in the setting and make a comment about it to Gibbs before one of the few agents who had shown up dateless had asked for a dance. With the briefest of glances at Gibbs to gauge his reaction, she graciously accepted the offered hand and moved onto the floor. The momentary look in his direction revealed what she was sure was anger and perhaps a touch of possessiveness before he careful schooled his features into an emotionless mask. She grinned slightly as she and her partner made their way through other couples and onto the floor, unreasonably happy at the feelings that had so briefly been displayed on her bosses face.

The rest of the next hour went much the same, Kate barely able to find the opportunity to take a quick drink of water before she was once again asked back out onto the floor by another of the many agents at the party. She found it to be a significant relief when Ducky asked for her hand and then refused to turn her over to anyone else for the next three dances. The break in partner changes gave her the opportunity to have a real conversation for the first time that night as well as giving Gibbs some cool down time. He had appeared to get more and more agitated with each successive dance and, while his behavior sent the butterflies in her stomach zooming around hopefully, she doubted very much that NCIS's top agent punching out a junior investigator would be a good way to end the evening.

She tried to force that kind of thoughts out of her head each time they surfaced. The very idea of Gibbs attacking some one merely for dancing with her was ludicrous for a good many reasons, not least of which was that she had no real reason to believe that he felt that way about her. But the fantasy quality of the night was apparently making everything into a possibility and Kate wasn't entirely sure that she wanted that feeling to go away.

By the time an opportunity had arisen to just sit at the team table for awhile, only half an hour remained of the evening. She was disappointed that, while Ducky, McGee and even Tony had asked her to dance, Gibbs had yet to even move himself from the table except to fetch a fresh drink. She forced herself not to dwell on the fact though as she happily became immersed in the conversation of the table. Whether because they sensed her reluctance or because they weren't brave enough to interrupt the easy comraderie of the group, the few single agents who had not had a chance to dance with her stayed away and did not break the calm spell that had fallen over the team.

Since sitting back down at their table, Kate had paid only the barest of attention to the band and their singer, but when a suddenly musical silence filled the air she tuned back in along with the rest of the group, the change in atmosphere immediately sending up red flags with the seasoned investigators. She relaxed back into her chair as she took in the sight of the singer signaling for the crowd's attention and listened only half-consiously as he spoke briefly into his microphone, voicing his hopes that they had all had a good time.

Her posture returned to its earlier rigidity when the young man informed them that there was a theme involved for the last song and dance of the night. And she almost stopped breathing as he continued on, vowing either many pains or many thanks on whomever had come up with the plan.

**TBC**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**A/N: **So, believe it or not, but the only thing that kept me from posting this and the fourth chapter together is the fact that I can't for the life of me figure out what I want from the little italized blurb at the beginning of the chapter. The rest of it is written, but my muse just doesn't want to help on that. She does, I've noticed, tend to work best when the reviews are flowing so let me know what you thought and I'll get the next part up as quick as possible (or whenever she makes a return appearance).


	4. Part 4

**How could I face the faceless days**

**If I should lose you now?**

**We're so close**

**To reaching that famous happy end**

**And almost believing this was not pretend**

_They step into an empty space on the dance floor, carefully avoiding looking either at each other or at the other dancers around them. There's a distinct moment's pause before they turn toward one another, his shoe squeaking slightly on the high polish floor and her dress swirling momentarily around her legs. She keeps her eyes on his chest, apparently unwilling to look up into his face even as he looks down at hers. Her eyes close for the briefest of times as she tilts her head up and when she opens them again, now looking directly into his, something between them changes. They move simultaneously as she steps towards him and he catches one of her hands in his larger one and rests his other gently on her hip._

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs couldn't believe it. Not only was the evening one gigantic cliche, but apparently it was also a very ingenious form of torture. He couldn't stop himself from gritting his teeth as he watched Kate dance with man after man, each one dying a hundred horrible deaths in his mind as they held her in their arms. It was as though the whole Rat Pack evening that had been happening all around him had swiftly turned into his own personal horror flick, complete with the Wes Craven-esque soundtrack that was playing in his head.

The mental bloodbath Gibbs was formulating for all of Kate's many dancing Romeos was brought to a swift halt as he watched Ducky pull her away from a young probie from the second floor and Gibbs finally allowed himself to relax and just enjoy the way she looked and moved and...just was. With each consecutive minute that passed, he found it harder and harder to remember why he had ever convinced himself that he could never, under any circumstances, allow himself to reveal just how much he wished he was the one she was dancing with.

Those reasons, which he was sure had at one point or another been very convincing, became even harder to recall when Kate and Ducky made their way back to the team table and sat down for some casual comraderie away from the dance floor. The images he had in his mind of old 50s and 60s flicks took on even more life as Tony began to bombard them all with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin impersonations and, despite his early plans to find the whole evening boring and distasteful, he found himself laughing along with the rest of the team as Ducky immediately launched into one of his many tales, this one involving the filming of the original Ocean's Eleven and an apparent problem with one of the filming locations.

His relaxed and contented mood did not last for any real length of time though as he remembered a few other things about the type of movie the night was so accurately recreating: the girl always ended up with the good looking, charming and charismatic guy. As he watched Kate laugh at Tony and lightly slap him on the shoulder for one of his more raunchy jokes, the smile on his face fell away. If Kate did end up with one of the guys at the party, he couldn't for a moment imagine it actually being him.

Kate seemed to notice the sudden change in his deamenor, the way she always did, and appeared to be about to ask him about it, having skillfully shifted everyone else's attention away from them and back to Ducky, when the music cut off. His posture stiffened along with the rest of the team's until they had identified the reason for the silence and sat back to listen as the DJ made his announcement: the final dance would be, by the Director's orders, for team leaders and a member of their team, all senior agents had to dance; no exceptions. The leaders of those few team's, he remarked, that were single sex could choose one of the general secretaries or other office staff to dance with instead, but that was the only concession that Morrow was making.

Gibbs flashed an embaressed grin around the table, carefully avoiding Kate's eyes as he pushed his chair back and stood. With a great deal of effort he managed to keep a nonchalant and indulgent look on his face as he wove through the crowd toward the bar, very obviously making his way over to where Abby stood waiting on a drink. He noticed that the young goth had turned excitedly toward their table as the announcement had been made. He had also noticed how her face fell when she saw that he was moving away from the team's seats, and therefore away from Kate. He forced himself to ignore her disappointed look as he moved nearer to the lab tech, reminding himself that his decision to dance with her rather than Kate was one of self-preservation. He wasn't sure that he could resist the temptation to hold her forever if he danced even one song with her, but knew she'd never feel the same so what was the point in putting himself through that torture.

The feeling of once again being inside a cliche heavy movie struck him with a venegence as he moved within just feet of Abby's position. The Director had, up to this point in the evening, been content to remain off the dance floor, chatting casually with the a steady stream of agents and their families, but he had, as Gibbs neared his target, appeared to suddenly decide that a dance to end the evening wasn't such a bad idea. And he had choosen Abby, whose place by the bar he had reached just moments before Gibbs could. As Morrow offered his hand to the young goth, he flashed a mischieveous smile at Gibbs which confirmed what Gibbs had always suspected: the Director knew a lot more about what went on in his agency and with his agents then he let on.

Taking a steadying breath and trying to ignore the many stares that seemed to be directed toward him at that moment, he turned back the way he had come, his eyes catching and holding Kate's for a brief moment before he began to move.

**TBC**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**A/N:** Just one more part to go in this story, and to be honest I'm not sure how long it will take me to get it up and running. It will get posted when it gets posted and you'll all just have to wait and see I guess. the next chapter should be quite long so everyone make sure to get yourselves all ramped up for it.

Reviews always appreciated.


	5. Part 5

**AN: **So I wrote this in the present tense rather than the past tense of the last couple chapters because I wanted it to be as though this was the moment from which they were looking back on the earlier events of the evening. The first four paragraphs you might recognize as being rewrites (as the 3rd person omniscent rather than the 3rd person viewer) of the prologues to each of the previous chapter.

If you now feel that you need clarification of what the heck I just rambled on about, don't worry it's not really all that important.

* * *

Much as had happened when Kate had made her grand entrance on the balcony earlier that night, time seems to shift to slow-motion for Gibbs as he walks back to the table where Kate still sits, looking decidedly self-conscious. He keeps his movements slow, worried that anything other than a measured, steady pace will scare one of them off, though he isn't sure which of them he thinks is more likely to run. She looks down at the table as he continues to move closer and it isn't until he is standing almost immediately in front of her that she looks up again. He's sure she knew what was coming when he took his first step back to her and yet her eyes are alight with shock, and he grins at her discomfort. For the briefest of instances he worries that it was all a huge mistake, but then her face lights up with a beautiful smile. Just as slowly as he had walked over to her, he raises his hand to her, offering his palm for the walk to the dance floor.

For what seems like an eternity to Kate, she sits looking up at him, her brain not really sure what is going on around her. The large grin he's wearing shakes her from her reverie and forces a smile to her lips as she stands, well aware of the eyes of much of the room on them. She keeps her gaze on her feet until she is fully standing and has smoothed her dress down slightly over one hip, only then does she gather the nerves to once again look into his eyes. She reads nothing in them but a silent insistence that she knows well from the years that they have worked together. Uncertainty and fear show on her face as she raises an unsteady hand to join his where it hangs in mid-air and she's surprised to see his smile widen when their hands finally connect and even more surprised when he makes no immediate move towards the floor, but rather stands where he is, their hands and gazes locked.

Its several moments later that, with their hands still clasped together, he turns them to the floor and begins to make his way to the space that has already cleared for them, confident that even without his hand to guide her, she would still be at his side. He keeps his gaze almost exclusively on the dance floor and dancers ahead of him, but he can't completely stop himself from occasionally glancing over at her and he gets the distinct impression that she is doing exactly the same. His suspicions are confirmed about halfway through their journey when his fleeting look catches not her profile but her eyes. He shifts his focus back to the dance floor and tries desperately, though unsuccessfully, to keep a smug grin from breaking out on his features. It is only when they have reached the very edge of the polished wood that he realizes that he has unconciously been slowing his steps to ensure that there is no risk of her tripping in her heels, but he doesn't allow himself to think too much about that while they step fully onto the floor as the opening notes of the slow song fill the air.

Kate is impressed that they managed to make it on to the floor with only the one brief embaressing moment along the way. The flush that reddened her cheeks when he caught her looking at him is only just starting to go away as they become immersed amongst the other dancers. It's a few seconds before she can bring herself to turn and face him, afraid that sometime between their table and where they now stand he changed his mind about the wisdom of what they're about to do and even when she hears the squeak of his shoes which signals that he has turned towards her, she can't immediately bring herself to look directly at him. Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, she tilts her face upward. When she finally does open them again, everything seems to fall suddenly into place as they move closer together, one of her hands clasped tightly in his while the other moves up to settle on his shoulder just as his lands on her waist.

The vocals of the song have only barely begun as he starts to lead her through a slow waltz, his eyes never leaving hers.

**You're in my arms**

**And all the world is calm**

**The music playing on for only two**

**So close together**

**And when I'm with you**

**So close to feeling alive**

Gibbs had been worried when the song had first begun to play that he wouldn't remember how to dance. It had been years since he'd needed to know how to waltz, but now that they are actually on the floor, he finds it remarkably easy to lead her through the steps. All his attention is focused on her, the beautiful woman in his arms, and the only thing that keeps going through his mind as he gazes down into her face is that she seems just as content as he is.

**A life goes by**

**Romantic dreams will stop**

**So I bid miine goodbye and never knew**

**So close was waiting, waiting here with you**

**And now forever I know**

**All that I wanted to hold you**

**So close**

It is several moments into their dance before the reality of what is happening sets in for Kate. Their gazes are still locked on each other and she can't remember ever seeing him look happier. The fact that what they're doing is dangerous and can lead to nothing good flashes momentarily through her mind, but she forces the thought away and closes her eyes, trying desperately to enjoy what will probably never happen again.

**So close to reaching that famous happy end**

**Almost believing this was not pretend**

**And now you're beside me and look how far we've come**

**So far we are so close**

He pulls her closer to him, allowing himself the pleasure of resting his cheek against hers and breathing in the scent of her perfume. For the brief moment that he continues to have his eyes open he is aware of the many people in the room that are watching them dance, but then he allows them to drift shut and nothing exists in his world except her in his arms. Every thought against love and relationships that he has had since he met her three years ago disappears as the profound rightness of the moment seeps into his being and for the first time that he can remember he's suddenly willing to take a chance.

**How could I face the faceless days**

**If I should lose you now?**

**We're so close**

**To reaching that famous happy end**

**And almost believing this was not pretend**

As they move together around the floor Kate finds herself strangely upset that she had ever agreed to come to the ball in the first place. Even as the thought drifts through her mind that dancing with him is a dream come true, she can't help but recall all of the times that she has told herself that the pair of them would never happen; could never happen. Despite the happy smile on his face and the incredible sense of comfort and ease which has, for the most part, fallen over her, she sees only the inevitable let-down that the end of the evening will bring. The song seems to echo her feelings as the last sad lines are met with equally melancholly notes.

**Lets go on dreaming for we know we are**

**So close**

**So close**

**And still so far**

As the song ends, Gibbs pulls slightly back from Kate, mentally preparing to do what he has always wanted to do and kiss her. His motions are stopped though by the no longer content look on her face and he is surprised to find tears beginning to pool in her eyes. Raising a hand to gently wipe them away, to provide a comforting word against whatever has caused them, he is further shocked when she flinchs away from the movement. Her mouth opens to say something, but closes again before any words come out and she shakes her head as she steps backward away from him a few steps. Their gazes remain locked until she is a good five feet away at which point she suddenly turns and flees the dance floor. He watches her, as does the rest of the room, as she quickly grabs her purse, shakes off Abby's questions and ascends the stairs out of the ballroom.

He stays as he is, in the middle of the dance floor, looking after her, unsure of just what precisely has happened.


	6. Part 6

**A/N:** So, of fourteen reviews for the 5th (and originally last) chapter of this story, over half of them were requests for further chapters, a sequel, or really anything that would ensure that they had a happy ending. At first I was disinclined to acquiesce, but of course those are the kind of comments that stick in one's mind. So much so in fact that now, several months later, my mind returned to the story and with that return came a great idea for further chapters. So here it is, the continuation of So Close. I considered doing it as a sequel, but thought that was stupid since it is a direct continuation of the night's events. If you liked how Chapter 5 ending, I recommend not continuing to read, because I doubt the angst will continue (and as the writer I should know).

* * *

He had stood in the center of the dance floor for several minutes after she had gone his face a mask of confusion and barely concealed sorrow. All around him people did their best to look anywhere else, or at least to appear to be looking anywhere other than at the silver-haired man that stood, very lost, in the middle of the room. An unnatural silence had fallen over the NCIS party-goers following Kate's unexpected mad dash out of the hall; a silence that told Gibbs that their dance and all of the emotion that had been exchanged during it had not gone unnoticed by the rest of the conglomeration of agents and their families.

It was only when the silence was finally broken, replaced by the busy noises of people saying goodbye and readying themselves to leave, that he managed to make himself move; force his feet up the staircase and out to the parking lot and his car. He made no effort to meet up with his team despite Abby's attempts to catch his eye and it was only once he was in the solitude of his own vehicle that he allowed the careful emotionless mask that he'd put on inside to crack.

He didn't know what to feel first. Thoughts and emotions tumbled through his mind so quickly that he wasn't sure which ones were important or even real. Anger was a dominant and recurring theme. Anger at the Director for making up the whole ball thing. Anger at his team, at Abby, for not rescuing him from the dance before he'd made an ass of himself. But mostly anger at himself for being foolish enough to believe that something could ever exist between him and Kate.

It was only when that exact thought popped to the forefront of his consciousness for the tenth time that he recognized the fallacy of it. He may have been stupid for trying to push it in front of so many of their co-workers and friends and he might have been an idiot to fall for Kate in the first place – as if he had ever really had a choice in the matter – but there was no way that he could have mistaken the happy, loving look on her face when he had pulled her into his arms on that dance floor. She had wanted it too; wanted whatever the hell was going on between them.

All he had to do was figure out what had happened in such a short period of time to make her change her mind. With a plan firmly in mind and his face set in a determined expression he started his car, yanked the knot from his tie so that it hung loose around his shoulders, and drove off.

--

**A/N:** It's short I know but there's more to come. Notice that I've taken the "Completed" notice off of the thing. Reviews are always appreciated.


	7. Part 7

**A/N: **My most abject apologies that this has taken so long to get posted.  This my 5th attempt at writing this chapter and while I don't thinks its my best work, it certainly comes closer than any of the others to how I wanted this to go. Hope you enjoy this last chapter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He'd had it all planned out. Every step he was going to take when he arrived at her apartment. He was going to ask her what was going on; what exactly had changed between them during the course of that one song. He needed to know why she had run away and whether or not that was her final decision.

He'd had it all planned out and had actually made it as far as her door, the sound of his knuckles on the wood echoing in his ears, with his plan still intact. And then she opens the door and all of that goes to hell. Because playing softly in the background of her apartment is that song. The song they had danced to not so very much earlier that evening fills the air around him and every thought he'd had on the drive over vanishes at the sound and at the sight of her standing in front of him, still in her gorgeous dress and heels, looking reluctant and sad.

He gives her a small, reassuring smile as he brushes gently past her into her living room and he waits until he hears the door close behind him before turning around to face her. For several long moments they both just look at each other, the last few notes of the song the only noise in the room. In the silence that follows he takes a deep breath, trying to remember his plan, the questions that he had planned to ask her.

The words are halted in his throat as the music starts up again. The same song. The one that he is sure is going to haunt his nightmares if the rest of this night doesn't end well. It takes him a long moment to understand; to realize that she is listening to it on repeat. The same song, during which he had held her in his arms, over and over and over.

**You're in my arms**

**And all the world is calm**

**The music playing on for only two**

**So close together**

**And when I'm with you**

**So close to feeling alive**

She blushes slightly at the look of surprise that fills his features, embarrassed at being caught reliving those moments with him, and turns toward the stereo. Her hand almost reaches the stop bottom when his voice makes her pause.

"No."

His voice is commanding, but gentle, more of a plea than an order. Her hand drops to her side and she waits, wondering what he is going to do next. She can hear him moving, his steps just barely louder than the music, but she is still startled by the feel of his large, warm hand wrapping around her smaller one. He speaks again as he turns her gently to face him.

"Leave it on."

**A life goes by**

**Romantic dreams will stop**

**So I bid mine goodbye and never knew**

**So close was waiting, waiting here with you**

**And now forever I know**

**All that I wanted to hold you**

**So close**

He pulls her into his arms much as he had on the dance floor earlier, but now his eyes are more caring than amused as they watch her face and his touch is more of a caress than he ever would have dared in front of their colleagues. They don't dance so much as they sway together, one of his hands moving in soothing strokes over her lower back while his other clasps hers against his heart. He doesn't drop her gaze for one moment, their eyes locked in silent and uncertain communication.

**So close to reaching that famous happy end**

**Almost believing this was not pretend**

**And now you're beside me and look how far we've come**

**So far we are so close**

As she relaxes into his arms, she tries to remember why she had ever pulled away from him; why she had felt that this was a bad idea. She reminds herself of all of the reasons why they couldn't and shouldn't continue like they are: their jobs, his failed marriages, her own faulty relationships, every little fault of his that drives her crazy and all her foibles which she doubts could do anything except annoy him. In the end, she tells herself, they are not Prince Charming and the beautiful Princess. This isn't a fairytale and, as much as she would like to ride off into the sunset with him, she has a hard time seeing a happily ever after for them.

**How could I face the faceless days**

**If I should lose you now?**

**We're so close**

**To reaching that famous happy end**

**And almost believing this was not pretend**

He can see it in her eyes: the moment that she decides to pull away from him and it brings back the memory of what it had felt like to be left alone on that dance floor. If she honestly doesn't want this, want him, he would respect that, apologize for bothering her and leave. But if, as he suspects, she is just too scared to give them a chance…Well, he isn't going to allow that without putting up a fight first.

So when she pulls back from him ever so slightly, eyes leaving his face and instead looking over his shoulder, he is ready. Dropping the hand that has rested so comfortably against his chest, he raises his arm to cup her cheek in his palm.

"We can't." Her voice is uncertain, but her eyes shift back to look at him even as she speaks.

"Why not?" His confident tone doesn't obscure the affection and love in his voice and before she has a chance to give him a response, his lips are against hers. His kiss isn't hard and demanding as she'd so often imagined it would be. Instead it was a soft meeting of lips as his thumb stroked across her cheek.

**Let's go on dreaming for we know we are**

**So close**

**So close**

**And still so far**

The last lyrics of the song register with Kate and she pulls away slightly, her hand moving to lightly grip his shoulder even as shakes her head at him.

"This isn't how the song ends."

Gibbs smiles at the slightly joking tone of her words, his heart racing as long moments go by without her slapping him or running away. His eyes drop briefly to her lips before he looks her straight in the eye, every emotion he's ever felt for her written clearly across his features, and speaks.

"But it's how it should end."

He waits only long enough to confirm that she is smiling before he pulls her tightly against him, his lips once again melting against hers. This time she doesn't hesitate to kiss him back, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck, one hand delving into his silver hair.

And as Jon McLaughlin's voice once again fills the air, she thinks that it may not be a fairytale, but they might still get their happy ending.

**THE END**


End file.
